Alone but not Abandoned
by IPrayToVirgil
Summary: Now alone in the world, at 15 years old, Alex Rider faces even more challenges he must overcome, but he wont have to do it by himself. Rated T, Please R&R. -Discontinued
1. Left Alone

**Disclaimer: No, I do not own the Alex Rider series. My name is not Anthony Horowitz. I do however, own all characters of my creation, including the beautiful Christina Langhorne.**

**A/N: If you subscribe to my stories, you should know by now, that I usually don't ever get a story off the ground, but let me tell you, this one will! So don't pass it off like the rest of mine. Anyway, if you're still reading this, stop, because the real story is actually better.**

**Alex Rider: Alone but not Alone**

**II Kaeyne II**

Alex Rider sat in the back of his Maths class, drumming his fingers on the desk, half asleep, as Mr. Reeder explained systems of equations on the board. His hair, cut short save two strands that hang over his eyes, was soaked through, dripping onto his paper. The thunder crackled ominously outside, setting the mood for the horrible day Alex didn't know was approaching.

Alex wasn't the only one not paying attention to the lesson, however, two rows ahead, Christina Langhorne was absentmindedly doodling on her notebook, her head clouded with thoughts about the boy two rows back that she couldn't get off of her mind. Her long blonde hair fell from behind her ear, momentarily bringing her back to the real world, as she swept it back. She stole a glance over her shoulder at him, looking into his eyes, those deep pools of brown that showed a maturity that they shouldn't at his age.

Alex Rider was the secret heartthrob of Brookland High School, yet he was completely oblivious to the stares he got in the hallway. When he was in the hallway that is, Alex Rider was absent nearly half of the first term, and had already missed a few weeks of second term, and none of the students knew why. The teachers had said he was out with various illnesses, but most students saw right through the excuses. Every time Alex returned to school, he was always more battered and bruised than he was when he left. With one occurrence last term, they had come back from Holiday to find the science building burned to the ground.

It was these mysterious disappearances that all the girls admired. Every single girl was into a guy with something to hide. His mystery wasn't the only thing that made all of the girls crush on him like a wave on a Hawaiian beach, he was in superb physical shape, his lean muscles rippling underneath his uniform, and made all the more evident when he was out on the football field.

A loud slap on his desk brought Alex out of his stupor. Mr. Reeder had slammed a meter stick right in front of his face, causing Alex to snap to attention. "Mr. Rider, maybe you can tell us how we can solve this equation on the board." He said sternly. Alex quickly took in the figures on the board, and doing a quick bit of mental math, announced the answer.

"Mr. Reeder, this solution is inconsistent, it has no solution."

"Very impressive Mr. Rider, it appears my assumption that you were daydreaming was incorrect." He turned back to the board, addressing the whole class as he continued to speak. "Now, if we look at this next equation…" Alex began to drift off again.

He continued to stare ahead, looking at the back of Christina's head, admiring the way her hair hung over her shoulders, splayed out across the back of her uniform. His eyes briefly switched to the clock, noticing the minute hand ticking ever closer to the time that would mark the end of the period.

The minutes slowly ticked by, as he continued to drum his fingers on the desk creating a rhythmic tapping sound that echoed around the classroom between Mr. Reeder's words. His thoughts drifted back to those of Christina Langhorne, the girl that held his attention like a vice grip. The way her hips swayed as she walked, the way her hair fluttered gracefully in the wind, her laugh that rang like wind chimes through the hall, and the way she looked at him, with her piercing blue eyes, as if she was looking right into his soul, all sucked him away into a fantasy world, where she was his. "_If only that's what she thought of me."_ echoed through his head.

Christina stole another glance back at Alex, staring deep into his eyes, trying to get him to notice her. After a few seconds she noticed his eyes were almost clouded over, off in some fantasy land, and she spun back around in her seat, drifting off into her own fantasy world where he was hers. _"If only that was how he thought of me."_ echoed through her head. She thought of Alex holding her close to his toned chest, using his thick biceps to keep her from leaving. She imagined him leaning his head closer to her face, his nose touching hers, She saw him rotate his head sideways, and move his lips closer and closer to hers, millimeter by millimeter. Right before he made contact, however, the clang of the bell echoed through her head, and she was drawn back into Mr. Reeder's room. She cursed her luck as she packed her books into her backpack, and headed off to her locker.

Alex continued his fantasy daydream about Christina, he saw himself holding her close against his chest, feeling her heart beat against his pectorals, he moved his head closer, and his nose was touching hers. She rotated her head sideways, and millimeter by millimeter, she drew her full, red lips closer to his, Right before she made contact, however, the clang of the bell echoed through his head, drawing him back to Mr. Reeder's room. He cursed his luck as he threw his books into his backpack. He slung it over his shoulder, watching Christina as she sauntered out of the classroom, and drudged along behind her, heading to his locker.

He threw his backpack in his locker, and was just slamming it shut as he heard his name called from down the hallway. He spun and saw Tom Harris jogging down the hall towards him, tossing him a quick wave. "Come on man, you need to snap out of your little daze, we have practice now!" Alex reached back into his locker, pulling out a black gym bag, monogrammed with the Brookland emblem.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, let me go get changed, I don't feel like playing in my school pants today."

"Sure, just hurry up, you don't want coach to make you run laps do you?"

"Who knows? Maybe I do!" he yelled back, as the door to the locker room swung shut. He reached up, undoing the top button on his school polo, and pulled it over his head, taking his white undershirt with it. He tossed tight Brookland Football T-shirt over his head, and it fell across his shoulders as he undid the belt holding up his school trousers. He pulled on a pair of light blue mesh shorts, and laced on his cleats, tossing his uniform into the black bag, zipping it up on the way back into the hallway. All of the girls turned their heads to watch him walk down the hallway, admiring his rippling muscles and lean body underneath the tight clothing.

He jogged across the street to the football complex in the park, as his school didn't have their own football field. He witnessed the rest of the team doing their pre-practice stretches, and he glanced at his watch. The time read 3:28, he had two minutes to make it onto the fields. He looped his bag around his neck and broke into a full out sprint, just making in to the stretching circle when the coach blew his whistle.

Coach Morris was in peak physical condition for his age, and while he was nearly 40, he still managed to outpace many of the boys on the team during sprints. He was not someone you wanted to get on the bad side of. The boys converged into a loose huddle and dropped down to one knee. After they broke from the huddle, Alex engaged in some shooting practice with the teams goalie, Connor McCormack. After a few penalty shots, Alex spun around to find a familiar looking man leading an apathetic Dalmatian over to the bleachers. Alex sighed out loud. "Why today of all days?" The man was no other than MI6's John Crawley, the one who was always sent out to bring Alex back to the Royal and General bank to meet with Alan Blunt. This was where Alex differed from Tom Harris, Connor McCormack, and the rest of the guys at Brookland High School. Alex was a teenage spy for MI6.

He had gone on 7 missions for them already, endangering his life every time, the risk being greater and greater as they sent him on more important missions. It had all began when his uncle, Ian Rider, had been shot and killed by the ruthless assassin Yassen Gregorovich, on the way back from a mission in Cornwall, Europe. After this, Alex was left with just his housekeeper Jack Starbright to watch over him. MI6 used this to blackmail him into doing their dirty work, anything from infiltrating top-secret computer plants, to scuba diving into booby-trapped caves, and even getting sent into outer space. After one mission, he had even received a gunshot wound to the chest, and was put into the hospital for several weeks.

As practice ended, he saw Mr. Crawley tugging the dog across the field, walking towards him. He called out Alex's name, and Alex did the first thing that came to mind. He ran. Alex ran as fast as he could, scooping his bag up off the sidelines as he did. He dodged the rush hour traffic across the street, and made it to the bike shed on Brookland's campus. He entered the four-digit code on the bottom of the padlock, and began to pedal as fast as he could. Weaving through traffic, he took the path home he had memorized a long time ago, cutting as many corners as he could.

He left his bike propped against the short staircase leading up to the front door of his late Uncle's house, and dashed inside. "Jack, I'm home!" he called out, there was no response. "Jack are you there?" He called again. He began to wander past the living room, and he took a turn into his kitchen.

There, on the floor, lay Jack Starbright, a large bloody hole sat right between her eyes. The floor was crusted with dried blood, that he could only assume to be hers. He broke down into tears, crashing onto the couch, sobbing like a two-year-old child. A ringing echoed through his house, and there at the door, stood Mr. Crawley.

**A/N: So, what did you guys think? Is it good so far? Not descriptive enough? Too short? Let me know through REVIEWS! Please, please review, I want reviews, they make my day! Anyway, keep your eyes out for Chapter 2 coming soon! **

**P.S.: This story will contain a lot of pointless fluff! But between who? You shall have to wait and find out!**

**P.P.S: I need a beta-reader! So if you're interested, PM me, or hit me up at IIKaeyneII(at)yahoo(dot)com!**


	2. Puzzle Pieces

**Disclaimer: I do not own Alex Rider, or anything else you recognize from Anthony Horowitz's amazing series, but I do however own all things of my own creation, including Christina Langhorne.**

**A/N: You guys are truly blessed, not only is this my first story to have more than one chapter, but you also got Chapter 2 the day after the story went up! So here it is, the legendary (for me at least) second chapter! Enjoy! (I still need ideas to replace this really bad working title!)**

**Alone But Not Alone**

**Chapter 2**

**Puzzle Pieces**

**II Kaeyne II**

Christina sighed as she loaded the immense amount of books into her bag, wishing it wasn't a Tuesday. She heard someone yell Alex Rider's name down the hall, as Tom Harris jogged past her. He engaged in a quick conversation with Alex as he disappeared into the locker room. She sighed again, and brushed her hair back behind her ear. She felt a soft vibration from inside her purse. She pulled the phone out, and looked at the caller ID. Her mother's name was displayed across the small LED screen, and she quickly put the phone back into her bag. "Not now mom, I'm not in the mood." She muttered to herself. Her mother had probably received a phone call from her Chemistry teacher, she had failed another test. She

Christina silently wished that the school hadn't put her in all of Alex's classes, he was too much of a distraction for her. Her mood sank even lower as she thought about how it would always be fantasy and never reality. "_Alex would probably fall for one of the popular girls with all the make-up, or someone he's known for more than a year." _she thought to herself. Christina had come to Brookland in the middle of last year, after moving overseas from the state of California, in the United States. Her father had been an executive in a major corporation, based in Los Angeles. When they attempted to expand their business overseas, her father had volunteered, putting his promotion above his families wishes. Since then she had always stuck out amongst the other girls, and she always blamed her father. She always spent her summer vacation back in America, keeping close ties with her friends from her boarding school. She always thought she was always a little bit fatter, or a little bit rougher then all of the girls at Brookland. She wasn't fat per-say, but as she compared herself to the other girls, she always noticed she was a small bit bigger. While most guys would have found her accentuated curves to be beautiful, she did not. She had even once considered becoming Bulimic, in order to slim down to be like the other girls. It was these small imperfections that caused her to consider herself 'unworthy' of Alex Rider. She pulled the rubber band off of her wrist, looping it twice, three-times around the loose ponytail behind her head. She slung the heavy pack across her shoulders, and clipping the padlock shut, began her long walk home.

As she exited the school, she lingered for a moment, gazing across the street at the boys soccer practice, and turned walking down the sidewalk. She constantly heard the beeping of horns, which was unusual this early before rush hour, and she turned to see the reason why. There was a black sedan parked in the middle of the street, and a man dressed in a black suit stepped out of the back, pulling a Dalmatian with him. He began to head down towards the soccer field, and Christina was puzzled. _"Wearing a suit to walk your dog? That seems strange…" _she thought to herself. She dismissed the thought, and continued the walk home.

After walking about two blocks, she took a left turn, and passed by what she knew to be Alex Rider's house. She saw the door sitting open, and heard a commotion inside. She knew he would still be at soccer practice, so she decided to poke her head inside. She quietly entered the living room, and heard a loud noise echo throughout the house, and then the commotion stopped. She ducked behind the couch as she heard footsteps approaching across the hardwood flooring. She heard the footsteps continue past, and saw a man in a black muscle shirt, and khaki pants exit the front door, he didn't close it behind him. She did however notice, the red tattoo on his upper arm. It was a plain undecorated circle.

Christina slowly stood up from behind the couch, and made sure the door was closed, she forgot to lock it. She made her way around the corner, into where the commotion was coming from. At first sight, she noticed it was a kitchen, apparent by the corner of the stove built into the counter. She stepped around the counter, and as she rounded the corner, she found the body of a red-haired girl lying on the floor, blood leaking out of a bullet wound in her head. She was dead. Christina was sickened at the sight, and nearly fainted. The only thing that kept her in reality was the crash outside by the stairs.

She heard the front door crash open, and did the first thing that came to mind, she dashed upstairs. She head Alex's voice echo through the house, and her heartbeat skyrocketed. She could hear it pounding in her ears. His voice rang out once more, and she head his cleat clad feet walk slowly into the kitchen. She heard him break down into sobs moments later. He had discovered the body. _"Was that his girlfriend? It couldn't have been his mom..."_ She continued to ponder, until a loud chiming echoed through the house. She peeked over the banister, and saw the same man that had been causing all of the traffic commotion earlier. _"Is that his father? Why would he be ringing the doorbell?" _She saw Alex sit up, his hair swung out of his face, and she was left looking into red puffy eyes, tears dripping down his chin. As he turned to the door, she saw his countenance morph to anger.

Alex sat up off of the couch, his eyes narrowed as he opened the door. "Mr. Crawley, what brings you here?" he snarled in a fake cheery tone.

"Well, I attempted to approach you at the football fields, but you seemed in a…hurry" Crawley snarled back. Apparently Alex's attempt at escaping unnoticed didn't go as planned. "We have some issues we need to discuss with you down at the Royal & General." Alex angered even more.

"Why? So you can explain why you killed Jack?" he yelled.

"Mr. Rider, I can assure you, I have no idea what you are talking about, last time I checked up on your house, which I do so often, Jack was very much alive and well." Crawley stated calmly.

"Well I can assure you that her body is laying on the kitchen floor, with a bullet wound to the head. Can you explain that?" He was practically screaming now, his face taking on a shade of red, his eyes clouded over with rage. Mr. Crawley's face momentarily displayed shock, until his face recomposed into the emotionless slab it usually remained as.

"This may be pertaining to the issue that Mr. Blunt is hoping to discuss with you. We may have to deal with this matter at a later time, right now I need you to accompany me to the bank, there is a car waiting outside. Mr. Blunt says it is urgent"

"How can you just pass this off like nothing happened? Jack wasn't one of your agents that died on your crazy, half-baked, missions! She was the only person I had left in my life!" As Alex made this realization himself, he began to break down into sobs again, sinking to his knees on the floor. _"MI6 owns me now, they control every aspect of my life. I have no choice but to get in the car, and face Alan Blunt." _Alex stood up off the floor, using his arm to wipe the tears away, and made his way around Crawley, and out the door, he slammed it behind him.

As he walked out of earshot, Crawley spoke up again, "Miss, I could see you hiding on the stairs, your blonde hair stuck out among the drab paint, and I know for a fact that Rider had no sisters, so I must inquire as to the nature of your presence here." Christina stood up, slowly walking down the rest of the flight of stairs she had been kneeling on. Her legs not wanting to carry her any further.

"I was just walking my way home, when I saw the front door sitting open, and I heard screaming, so I decided to see if someone was in trouble." She replied shakily.

Crawley was silent for a moment following this, and then he spoke up again, "Did you know whose house this was when you intruded?"

"I knew that this was Alex's house, and I had seen him at soccer, I mean football, practice, and knew he wasn't home."

"Do you know anything…special about Alex?" He asked, A nervous look flitting across his face.

"What do you mean by 'special'?" she questioned.

"That answer satisfies me, please, accompany me to the car." He said, his back turned, already slowly walking to the car.

"Why? Won't Alex be mad that I was snooping around his house?"

"Young lady, this is no longer up for question, this is a matter of national security." And with that he walked out the door, beckoning for her to follow.

_"What have I gotten myself into? And what is Alex's big secret?"_ Her mind was racing as she followed the aging man to the black Lincoln Town Car.

Crawley walked to the back door of the car, opening it, and she saw Alex sitting there, head in his hands, and he began to crane his neck to look out of the car door.

Alex closed the door behind him on his way out, his eyes downcast, the remains of tears dripping from his chin leaving a trail behind him. _"Why does everyone I get close to have to die? First mom and dad, then Ian, now Jack."_ These thoughts began making his mood even worse as he came to the realization that every single one of these deaths was related to MI6 in one way or another.

He opened the back door to the black Lincoln Town Car, and climbed into the soft leather seats, feeling the cool air conditioning blowing against his face. But he didn't notice any of these things, he was too absorbed in his hatred of MI6, and everyone and everything associated with them. He put his head in his hands and began to sob again, knowing there was no way he could get even with them. A thought popped its way into his head, and he knew he had found the one way to get back at MI6, he could join SCORPIA. Just then he heard the soft click of the car door opening, and felt the cool autumn breeze blow against his face. He craned his neck to the side, and as his eyes began to adjust to the sudden influx of bright light, he could make out two figures standing just outside the door. One was the black suited figure of Mr. Crawley, holding the door open, and the other was a familiar looking female, but he couldn't be sure. As the glare left his eyes, they gleamed with recognition. For some reason, Mr. Crawley had Christina Langhorne standing outside the door.

**A/N: So…what do you think? I know I know, I think I'm just making the Mary-Sue worse, but come on, its my first REAL fanfiction with an OC. I'm trying to make it better, any tips are welcome, so review, review, review! Also, If you are getting confused as to the timeline, Right now, I am telling the story from both Alex AND Christina's perspective, with a few overlaps when both are present to witness the event. Anyway, please review, I want about 5 before I put up another chapter. And for those of you adding me to favorites, and story alerts….I get e-mail notifications, so I know who's reviewing and who's not!**

**Kaeyne**

**P.S.: I still need a beta-reader, so if you are interested and have experience, contact me via private message, or e-mail me at IIKaeyneII(at)yahoo(dot)com.**


	3. Happy Halloween!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Alex Rider, and I wish I didn't write this chapter.**

**A/N: Yeah, Happy Halloween, instead of candy, I have a special chapter of Alone but not Alone! I STILL need a better title and a beta-reader people! Anyway, this chapter does not really fit in the story line, but expect something like this every holiday, just to spice things up a little.**

Christina got into the car, and Mr. Crawley began to drive away. When they arrived at the Royal & General Bank, they walked inside and were greeted by Mr. Blunt and Mrs. Jones, both wearing Halloween Costumes! Mrs. Jones was Misty from Pokemon, and Mr. Blunt was Frankenstein. They led Alex and Christina back to the car, and began to drive away again. They pulled into a neighborhood, and began to walk down the street. Mr Blunt pointed to a house and said "Go ring the doorbell"

Alex walked up and rang the doorbell. As the door swung open he saw Yassen Gregorovich dressed up as a fireman. "Happy Halloween!" he shouted, and threw candy at Alex and Christina.

They got back in the car, and drove to Alex's house again. As Alex went inside, Jack jumped out of the closet and screamed "Boo!". Alex fell back in shock, and started jabbering incoherent sentences.

By this point Alex had gone completely insane, and flung himself out the window, and instead of being greeted by the concrete floor he thought would be his death, he landed on a moon bounce. He stumbled his way out, and found himself tackled by none other than Ian Rider. Alex was so shocked, he forgot to breathe, and he died.

**A/N: Ok, well, Chapter 3 is complete and ready to be uploaded, but in honor of the holiday, I decided to give you all a little joke chapter. This has nothing to do with the real story, so please don't flame it, I wrote it in like 5 minutes. STILL NEED A BETA READER!**

**Kaeyne**


	4. Not Again

**Disclaimer: I do not own Alex Rider, or anything you recognize from the series. I do however, own all characters and things of my own creation.**

**A/N: Yes, here it is, the real Chapter 3! I hope you all enjoyed the short little Halloween thingy! I would like to thank all of my reviewers (Over 10 reviews already!) so I'm going to take a minute to address some of them.**

**Rmiller92: Thank-You for volunteering to be my beta-reader, and also for being the only one so far to post a review for the Halloween chapter,**

**AlexLover!: I really am trying to get these chapters up as fast as possible, but as for the cliffhangers, they're fun to write.**

**Glissoning Raven: I don't really plan on making this one of those cheesy 'Im the OC and I have a crush on Alex, I get to be a spy and we go on a mission together stories' even though it looks like it might right now. That will not happen.**

**HawkEye DownUnder: I really am trying to eliminate the Mary-Sue by going in Christina's head a lot, and hopefully by the end of Chapter 5, I'll be able to eliminate her cheesiness all together.**

**Anyway, onward with the chapter!**

**Alone but not Alone (STILL need a better title)**

**Not Again**

**II Kaeyne II**

Alex continued to stare in shock, as Mr. Crawley motioned for Christina to sit in the car. The way he was almost mechanically reacting to the situation gave the pretense that he had done this before. He showed no concern for what Alex assumed was a matter of national security.

He was sucked away from reality as a barrage of thoughts assaulted his mind. _"What will she do when she knows what I am? I mean, they have to tell her now don't they? Will she have to sign the Official Secrets Act? What if I'm not the only teenage spy?"_ All of these thoughts raced through his mind as Christina hesitantly sat down next to him in the car, attempting to avoid his blank gaze.

She saw his eyes snap back to focus, his eyes scanning his surroundings, and she saw a moment of visible shock flash across his face as his eyes rested on her. She felt heat begin to rise to her face, and no words came to her mouth as she attempted to speak. Her words came out as a jumbled noise that nobody could understand.

Alex moved to speak, his voice coming out choked and cracked. "How did you get roped into this?" He asked, his eyes showing his genuine concern, but also an unspoken rage, that created a tension between them. Christina was unsure how to answer his question. _"Should I lie? Should I tell him that this man took me off the street? Or should I tell him the truth, that I was sneaking around his house and came across a body? What about the man with the tattoo?" _Her mind was racing as she tried to process her answer to the question.

"I was walking home from school, when I passed by your house. I heard a commotion, and the front door was wide open. When I entered the house, there was a man and a woman. The woman must be your guardian, Jack, that I've heard about, but I didn't have any clue who the man was. He did have a tattoo on his shoulder of a red ta-"

Mr. Crawley cut her off, as he entered the front seat of the car. "Save the rest of this conversation for when we reach the bank. There could be prying eyes and ears everywhere." He said, pausing before the word bank.

"What does this have to do with a bank? And why was an innocent woman just murdered in her own home?" Christina nearly shouted.

"All will be explained in time Ms. Langhorne, but as I said, this conversation will be continued when we reach the…relative….safety of the bank." With this, Christina sank back into the plush leather seat, and let the hum of the engine lull her to sleep.

Alex sat in the back of the car, and watched as Christina began to sink off into sleep. He couldn't help but notice the way she looked so peaceful as she slept, her face no longer showing any signs of sadness or anger, but instead almost like a painting, framed by a beautiful blonde mane. He quickly began to banish these thoughts, however, as he made the realization that he knew nothing about her. She and him were barely friends, only having the occasional discussion between classes or during lunch. It wasn't Alex's fault though; his line of 'employment' made it hard to get close to anyone at all. The one person he had ever gotten close to had gotten their life shattered, and ran away from him.

His eyes began to tear up once again as his mind roamed to thoughts of Sabina Pleasure, daughter of the journalist Edward Pleasure, who had once been a target of the pop singer gone mass murderer, Damian Cray. It was after this event that Sabina and her family had fled to America, in San Francisco. It had been quite some time since he had received an e-mail from her, and it made him feel empty, like he was forgotten and invisible to her. His thoughts were ended as he felt the car come to a stop, and he felt the engine cut off. He gently shook Christina awake to let her know that they were at the 'bank'.

She groggily stood out of the car, looking at the imposing 15 floor grey stone building, with a golden sign out front reading _The Royal & General Bank_. _"This doesn't seem too fishy, I wonder why we are at a bank though."_ She thought to herself. Alex, however, had a different reaction as he stepped out of the car. As he turned to face the building, there was no curiosity or sadness roaming through his mind, only anger. He had come to loathe this building, every time he entered, he came out with an even higher price on his head. He glanced to the left of the car, and saw a familiar piece of cement. It was this very sidewalk that he had taken a bullet to a major artery, placing him in the hospital for over a month, and physically crippling him. His hand absentmindedly stretched to where his shirt concealed the small, white, circular scar on his chest. Mr. Crawley snapped them both back to attention by slamming the car door shut, and he beckoned for them to follow him inside the bank.

Alex was greeted by the same fake front he always saw, the lines of people, the tellers behind windows, the signs advertising deals and interest rates. Christina, however, was fooled, "Why are we at this bank? What does this have to do with anything that just happened? Why was that wom-" She was cut off again as Mr. Crawley turned around.

"You would do well to listen to what I said earlier, Ms. Langhorne, and save these questions until an appropriate time." Mr. Crawley then turned and began to walk towards the row of elevators in the back of the lobby. He continued along the row of elevators, until he came to the last one. He pressed a button, letting his finger linger longer than normal. Alex saw the button flash green and he suspected it contained some form of fingerprint scanner. The door to the elevator noiselessly slid open, presenting a plush interior, clad with golden handrails, thick-woven carpeting, and flawless wood paneling. The fact that MI6 even bothered to show any wealth at all surprised him.

As they stepped into the elevators, the doors slid shut again, and began to rise, not needing any prompting by pushing a button. Both Alex and Christina noticed this, but only one decided to speak up about it. "Don't elevators need a button to be pushed to operate? Why does this place seem so weird?" Christina questioned. Her incessant bickering and questioning was beginning to get on Alex's nerves, as well as Crawley's.

"All questions will be answered in time" He quietly replied as Alex felt the elevator come to a stop. Alex glanced upwards at the digital floor counter, and saw it displayed the number '07'. This puzzled him, as he knew Alan Blunt's office was located on the 15th floor. A quiet beep echoed through the silent elevator, and Alex saw the look in Christina's eye, and knew she was about to ask another question. He quickly got her attention, and held a finger up to his lip, the universal sign for silence.

She was beginning to doubt the legitimacy of this whole bank, and with the people she was involved with. The fact that Alex seemed to know exactly what was going on worried her, and she began to outwardly show it. Her eyes began to flit back and forth, and her hands began to shake. Alex took a quick glance over at her, noticing her change in demeanor. _"Should I try and hold her hand? Or is this the wrong time? What do I do?" _He waited another few seconds, and his mind came to a decision _"Oh well, its now or never"_ He slowly reached over with his left hand, and gently grasped her right one. He felt her tense up for a brief moment, and then he felt her relax, and grip his hand back.

She felt his hand brush against hers, and passed it off and an accident, but then she felt his hand against her again, only this time, it held a firm, yet gentle grip. She accidentally tensed up at this contact as her mind raced. _"Is Alex really holding my hand? I must be dreaming, he just doesn't seem like that kind of guy, especially right now." _She passed off the notion and decided to just enjoy the moment. The elevator doors dinged open, and they were greeted by a quartet of armed guards, which were not necessarily out of place in a bank. The hallway they were led down, however, was. It was rich in décor, with the same thick carpeting and wood paneling as the elevator. At the end of the relatively short hallway, was a thick, Victorian style door. As they approached it, the guards stepped to the side, and the threesome stepped inside. A sight that made Alex almost want to cringe greeted them. Mr. Blunt and Mrs. Jones sat behind a desk very familiar to Alex. In his hand, Mr. Blunt held a manila folder, with a white label that read 'WIMBELDON'. Alex's stomach dropped as he remember what occurred there this past summer, his mind flashed past the sabotage plan, his infiltration mission, the triads, and Sabina Pleasure. _"Wait, the triads? Does this all have something to do with them?"_ His mind continued back to thoughts of Sabina, and all of a sudden he dropped Christina's hand. He felt guilty now, he had forgotten about Sabina amongst all the chaos today, and had almost done something he would never be able to rectify.

Christina felt his hand tense against her palm, and then all of a sudden it was gone. She glanced over, and noticed his hands were already shoved deep in his pockets, and a pained look was on his face. She began to doubt herself, and her imagination began to run rampant, because she thought she was to blame for the way he was acting right now. She heard a scratchy voice sound from behind the desk, and saw the old man that she could only assume was Mr. Blunt began to speak. He uttered one sentence that made Alex begin to shake with anger. "Alex, we need you again"

**A/N: Well, I think this may be the longest chapter so far, because of the review replies. I feel those help me get to know the readers better, and also lets the people who were wondering the same thing figure it out without having to type the same reply over and over. If they bother you, let me know, that's what the little button below the chapter is for! Please, review, review, and review. Don't hesitate to email me either! I got one e-mail from a reader, and it really made my day, because they took that extra step! Anyway, until next time folks!**

**Kaeyne**


	5. Any Worse?

**Disclaimer: No, I don't own Alex Rider. I do however own anything of my own creation. God I'm sick of typing that.**

**A/N: Wow, two real chapters in one day? I really spoil you guys! So spoil me back with reviews please! This chapter will have a few unexpected twists and turns, so get ready! And now, for the review reply, yes REPLY! I only got one review!**

**Soulguard: Woot! The amazing soulguard took the time to come review my story. For those of you who don't know who he is, he is the god of Halo fanfiction, and my idol. If you read Halo fanfiction, and haven't read any of his stories, the final arc of his story came to a close this week, so go check it out! Anyway, onto the chapter!**

**Alone but not Abandoned**

**Any Worse?**

**II Kaeyne II**

Alex mentally pinched himself, trying to convince himself that this wasn't happening. It had only been two weeks since the Ark Angel incident, and was barely caught up with his schoolwork, and they had the nerve to ask him for help again. The words continued to echo throughout his head as he processed these thoughts. _"We need you again."_ The four words he had never wanted to hear again. He inwardly sighed. "What is it this time? A nuclear base in sub-zero Antartica? A deep sea biochemical warfare lab?" he snapped angrily.

"No" Mr. Blunt replied. "It's the triads again" Shock crossed Alex's face. _"I should have known when I saw the folder! I got caught up on thoughts of Sabina again, why can't I get her out of my head?!"_

"I thought we solved the problem with the triads, I thought you released the prisoners in exchange?" He questioned.

"We did, but it seems old wounds heal slow, do you remember that 'little brother' you locked in the deep freeze? It seems that he was promoted to a position of power."

"What does any of this have to do with me?" His eyebrow cocked as he asked this.

"You are the one blotch on his otherwise perfect record. If it weren't for you, he would be at the top of the triads. He is currently recognized as a _Fu Shan Chu _or a deputy mountain master, second only to the _Shan Chu, _the Mountain Master. Once he eliminates you, he could become the _Shan Chu_."

"So then why do you need me? Would it not be better to do what we did last time, and send me into hiding?"

"That is precisely why you are here, you will be going on 'vacation' to visit a friend in San Francisco" Alex's mind began to piece together a puzzle in his mind. San Francisco is where Sabina is living, Jack was shot and killed while he was at school. He also noticed it was all MI6's fault.

Playing dumb, Alex began to ask more questions. "Why San Francisco? And who is this friend I will be visiting? Is it one of your undercover operatives? Or is it for the CIA?"

Blunt simply responded, "Alex, I know for a fact that you do have a genuine friend in San Francisco, I know this because I have been filtering them out of you e-mail for the past few months, after we informed her father that you would be coming to stay."

Alex snapped at this latest development. "What gives you the right to search through my private things? I'm not another one of your spies, I'm just trying to live a normal life, while getting manhandled by my government!"

"This matter is not up for discussion, you need to return home and pack your things, you leave one week from today at 9:00 A.M." He then lifted a folder off of his desk, from underneath the folder labeled 'WIMBELDON'. "This folder contains a note we need Jack to deliver to you principal tomorrow, along with the papers you will need to show at immigration. Mrs. Jones, would you go get Alex's bag?"

Mrs. Jones slowly stood up out of the chair, and a creak sounded as the pressure was suddenly relieved of it. She left through a door almost identical to the one Alex had entered through, only this one was clad with locks, security chains, and deadbolts.

Alex was yelling at this point. "How do I give a note to a dead person?"

"What are you talking about Alex"

"Jack is dead! Dead! She was shot in the head while I was at school!"

"Do you have any idea who did it?"

"Yes, you, or someone who works with you! This is all another one of your blackmail schemes to get me to do something for you isn't it?"

At this point, Christina, who had spent the time of this discussion twiddling her thumbs, decided to speak up. "I might have an idea who did it." All eyes in the room turned to stare at her.

Blunt narrowed his eyes at her, as if he were trying to focus his aging eyes. "And who might you be?" he questioned.

Crawley made a soft cough in his throat, and all eyes now swiveled to him. "Her name is Christina Langhorne, I found her in Alex's house when I went to pick him up." Christina's face began to glow red with embarrassment and she averted her eyes from Blunt's stare.

Blunt, however, seemed unconcerned with the fact that she had been snooping around his house, only with what she knew. "What information do you have that could even possibly help us?"

She decided to forgo telling her whole story, and instead just told him about the man with the tattoo. "Well, I was in the living room when a man wearing a black sleeveless shirt walked out of the kitchen. As he walked away, I saw a tattoo of a plain red circle on his arm."

"Well Alex, there's your answer, Jack was not murdered by us, but rather, the triads. Now, it would be in your best interest to take this folder, and go see Smithers, I hear he has some rather interesting things for you."

"What about Christina? Is she coming with me?"

"No, she will sign the Official Secrets Act, and then she will go back home, as simple as that." At this, Christina saddened, she thought she had been roped into this exciting adventure, and would finally get to spend time with Alex, but they were just going to send her back home, and send Alex off until god knows when.

Blunt's voice sounded through the office again, "Crawley, could you please take Christina down to the public services room, and then escort her back home? I can deal with Alex from here on out."

Crawley, who had been standing the entire time, beckoned for Christina to stand out of her chair, and follow him out the door. At this point, Alex was left alone in the room to face Mr. Blunt, and for the next few minutes, the room was silent, save the ticking of the clock on the desk. "Alex, we need to discuss your living arrangements." Blunt said finally.

"What do you mean?" he replied, his bitterness apparent in the sharp tone of voice.

"You cannot continue to live on your own, and according to your Uncle's will, MI6 is now your official guardian."

"So what? Do I have to live at the Royal & General now?"

"No, you will continue to live at your Uncle's house in Chelsea, but not at the moment. Now, as soon as Mrs. Jones returns with your bag, and the things Smithers made for you, you will be on your way to your temporary lodgings for the night."

"Temporary lodgings?" he questioned.

"You will be spending the next few nights somewhere you've been before, a nice little place up in the Breacon Beacons." Blunt said with a slight grin on his face.

"No" Alex yelled "You're not sending me back to SAS camp! I almost didn't come back the first time!"

"We have no other choice until we can find you a proper guardian, and that decision is final. Now all we are waiting on is Mrs. J-" They were interrupted by a sharp rapping on the door. It swung open silently on oiled hinges, and Mrs. Jones walked in, carrying two black duffel bags.

"One bag" she said, tossing the bag in her left hand with little effort at Alex, "contains your basic toiletries and your military uniform and fatigues. The second," She grunted with effort as she lifted it off the filing cube it was resting on, "contains 2,000 US dollars, and all of the gadgets Smithers packed you. You take the bag in your hands with you on the truck with you now, and trade it with somebody at the airport on Tuesday for this one. Don't worry about having Smithers explain all of the gadgets, these came with instructions for once."

Alex took the one bag with a sigh, and walked out the door. Blunt threw one last remark at him as he left back through the door he had come in through. He walked down the same thick carpeted hallway, he walked into the open elevator doors, scowling at the same thick carpeting and wood paneling. He sighed inwardly as he glanced around the same façade of the building being a bank. He saw the military style truck parked outside, and decided to just hop in the back without asking questions. He heard the engine grumble to life, and he saw an all too familiar black man turn around from the driver's seat, his eyes just as wide as Alex's. Frozen in shock with his hand on the gear shifter, was the one other person Alex had never wanted to see again. It was Wolf.

**A/N: Well there you have it, chapter 4 (or 5 if you count my little Halloween snippet) of my story. Yes, this story was not a one chapter wonder like the rest! Anyway, Rmiller, If you read this, I'm still waiting on your e-mail, but I decided to throw this one up anyway, it was burning a hole in my hard drive. The next chapter WILL NOT go up until that little review counter says '15' so REVIEW please. Until next time,**

**Kaeyne**


	6. Déjà vu

**Disclaimer: Do you really think I own the books? No, I don't! Whose name is on the cover of Snakehead? Not mine! If it was, I wouldn't be writing this. I do own all characters of my creation however, but its not like I can do anything about it if you steal them.**

**A/N: Ok, wow I feel really bad for not updating in such a long time, but truth is, I got grounded for a little while, and then I had to focus on finals, but now, finally, I got some time to write another chapter for you guys. This is the part where I want to ask you guys a poll-type question: **

**Should I pair Alex with Christina, or Sabina? I really need your answers, because I can't write the next chapter without them. This also means you have to review! **

**Speaking of reviews, its time for some review replies!**

**Blissful-Angel01: Yes, it is sad that Jack had to die, but I felt it was a unique way to start my story off with a bang. Also, if Jack was still alive, I wouldn't be able to logically do half of the things that occur in this story.**

**Dusk Writer: Well, I'm not sure if I'm going to bring her back yet. Well, I know I'm bringing her back, but I don't know how big of a role she will play in the story. Originally she was going to be the pivotal female character in the story, but the way things turned out, I don't know what will happen to her yet, that why you should vote in the poll!**

**Kitt t catte: Why thank you for the defensive antiflame.**

**I can tell you're bored reading all of this so lets get on to the chapter!**

**Alone but not Abandoned**

**Déjà vu Part I**

**II Kaeyne II**

Alex could only stare in shock at the person who was behind the wheel of the truck, and apparently, that was all he could return. The last time he had seen Wolf was almost 6 months ago now, when he had been sent to the Academy at Point Blanc, or as he called it, Point Blank. There, he had posed as the son of a rich supermarket tycoon, David Friend, and had been sent to what was thought to be a prestigious boarding school in the French Alps. It had turned out to be the headquarters for a madman scientist trying to take over the world. He was cloning all of the young boys who had been sent to the school, and keeping the originals imprisoned in the basement. Alex had ended up snowboarding down the mountain on an ironing board, and then returned with Wolf and his SAS team to rescue the sons. Wolf had taken a shot to the shoulder during the mission, but otherwise there were no casualties on their side. Alex had never expected to see Wolf again after that mission, and had almost banished all thoughts of him from his mind. After the Point Blank mission, Wolf's shoulder had never fully recovered from the wound, and was deemed unfit for combat. He took up a job at the Breacon Beacons' SAS camp instead, and that's how their paths crossed again. He could only hope the rest of K unit wasn't present when they arrived.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't little Cub, never thought I'd see you again. When they said I was picking up a MI6 agent, I figured it would be some other kid, going through the same stuff you had to. I even had a particularly nasty unit picked for him. Pity, really, but you can always take that spot. I don't really have any orders concerning you, only to give you lodging for one week, so I figure we can just continue where we left off with your training."Alex outwardly sighed "_This is going to be a long week." _He thought to himself. He didn't even reply to Wolf, only shifted the bag around and fell asleep in the backseat.

The truck rolled in to front gates of the camp in the Breacon Beacons at roughly 8 o'clock that evening and the engine cutting off woke Alex from his slumber. He groggily sat up, hoping to himself all of the past days events were all just a dream. As his eyes adjusted to the dark, he silently cursed MI6 as he saw he was still in the back of the truck. He swung his legs out of the car, the cold air chilling him, and he looped the bag around his shoulder, and looked around for Wolf. He was standing at the entrance one of the closer tents, and Alex could see in the dim light that a capital letter 'B' had been stenciled and spray-painted on the front. He took this to mean he would be assigned to B-Unit for the next week, and he could only pray they weren't as bad as K-Unit had been during his stay here.

It came to his realization that his prayers were ignored once he entered the bunkhouse. Wolf had mentioned they were a particularly nasty bunch, but he didn't expect them to be this bad. B-Unit made K-Unit look like a pack of grade school bullies. The first thing he heard when he entered the tent was "Hey maggot, who do you think you are?" He turned to see where the voice had come from. A tall, rather lanky man was standing to his right, eyes locked on Alex.

"I'm the kid" he replied grudgingly, he didn't know what Wolf had said his name was.

"Oh, you must be _Cub_" he sneered, venom dripping from his voice, bloodshot eyes narrowing. "I don't like having you around, and I don't think you're gonna like being around us, got it?" He didn't wait for a reply. "I'm Viper, this is Rhino" he said, pointing at a very large black man sitting in a folding chair in the corner of the room with a magazine. "Tiger" now pointing at the guy with the long blonde hair sitting on a bunk, disassembling and cleaning a Beretta Px4 .40 Caliber custom. "And finally Barracuda." Motioning with his head to the black man with cornrows on his bunk, tinkering with an old short-wave radio. They all at least acknowledged him with a nod, and went back to doing their various things. "Dinner is in an hour, use that time to get situated" Viper said. "Your cot is in the corner over there."

Alex wearily tossed his bag on the cot, and unrolled his military-issue sleeping bag. He pulled his tie off and unbuttoned the white Brookland Comprehensive shirt; he removed his white undershirt, and threw the tight, olive drab t-shirt over his head. His belt and pants were next, and he replaced them with the also olive drab military fatigues. Just like before they were loose in all the wrong places, and cut in under his thighs. He had just sat down on his bunk when the rest of B-Unit stood up, heading out the door for the mess hall. Viper snapped one last comment before he closed the door. "Eat light, _Cub_, we have a special night exercise scheduled."

Dinner was pretty much the same as the last time he had been here, a bland, but nutritious aluminum trays worth of food, washed down with a glass of tap water. He ate about half of the food when he remembered Vipers words, and with that, scrapped the rest, and swigged down his water. Not twenty minutes later, the Sergeant called all of the men to the parade grounds, which consisted of only 6 units. Much less than the 'enrollment' the last time Alex was here. The parade grounds were directly opposite the airstrip, and through the dark, Alex could see the running lights of a C-130J Hercules Aircraft on the runway, and immediately felt his stomach drop. They had planned a night drop.

The men were separated out into their units, and once again he was the odd one out. They would all be jumping in pairs, and he would be jumping alone. He was also expected to find his way back to the camp alone, and had been told it would be just over two hours at a jog. He was given a canteen of tap water, his parachute, a flashlight, and nothing else.

Alex knew a small bit about how to work a parachute from his BASE jumping adventure in Italy, back during his encounter with Scorpia, but that was different, BASE jumping involved jumping from a static object, in his case, a cliff above a Consanto Medical research facility, instead of jumping from a moving C-130 aircraft. The parachute drop would also be a lot further than the BASE jump. He got a lucky break on the fact that the jump would be using a static line, instead of a self-pull jump, which meant that he would be attached to a line that would pull the cord for him as he jumped. He began to mentally brace himself for the jump as they filed on to the aircraft.

**I know, I know, you guys deserve more than that, and I have a little bit more written, but I wanted to give you all at least a bit of reading to tide you over! Expect Part II tomorrow or Wednesday! **

**Don't forget to vote in your reviews!**

**Kaeyne**


	7. Déjà vu: Mirror Image

**Disclaimer: Do you really think I could have acquired these book rights? No, I don't own the books written by Anthony Horowitz; otherwise my name would be on the cover. I do however own all characters of my creation!**

**Ok, well, I know I didn't give you much time for reviews last chapter, but I was still sorely disappointed with the response it got! You guys need to make me happy, and review! Speaking of reviews, it reply time!**

**Rater (anonymous) I know, that bothers me too when people make Wolf seem like a father figure to Alex, so I'm straying away from that as much as possible, you'll see what I mean.**

**Duskwriter (anonymous) So far, I like leaving people hanging, its fun for me to mess with you readers.**

**Ok, well, here is part two of Déjà vu, and I hope you all enjoy it, I think it leaves off at a good point that will make you salivate for more, and I won't give it to you until you review! It's a mutual relationship here! You give me reviews, and I give you more chapters, see how it works? Anyway, on to the chapter!**

**Alone but not Abandoned**

**Déjà vu Part II: Mirror Image**

**II Kaeyne II**

The interior of the plane was spacious and empty, but the seats lining either side of the cargo bay were cramped. Apparently adding Alex in at the last minute caused a clump in the seating arrangement, and he found himself sandwiched between two well-built soldiers. From the terse conversation he had with them, all he had gleaned was their names and their units. On the left, the slightly larger of the two, Gorilla, was a part of D-Unit, and he certainly looked like a Gorilla. He was at least 6 feet tall, with charcoal skin and a shaved head. His biceps and triceps were almost threatening to rip his shirtsleeves, he smelled like a Gorilla as well. The man on the right was slightly smaller, around 5'9" or so Alex guessed, his blonde hair trimmed in the classic jarhead flattop. Cougar was the leader of E-Unit, so Alex guessed he had been given this spot by Wolf, making sure he was as uncomfortable as possible. The logical place to put Alex, to him at least, would have been between B-Unit and C-Unit, but he wasn't the one calling the shots here.

He surveyed the inside of the plane and, sure enough, there was no one as large as the two men he was sandwiched between, and his hatred for Wolf raised another notch. Just as he began to silently fume, however, the light in the back of the hangar switched from red to yellow as the back hatch of the plane began to drop open. The cool night air rushed in to fill the void that the heated air left as it escaped from the quickly enlarging gap in the back of the plane.

Gorilla nudged him on the shoulder and had to yell above the din of the engines. "Boss says you're jumping last, wait for F-Unit to jump then go, it's how the cords were arranged." Alex sighed to himself, he would be the last to jump, and therefore, he would be the furthest away from camp. The hatch locked in to place and the yellow light switched to green as the jump sergeant exited the cabin. Alex leaned forward enough to see past Cougar, and was just in time to see Wolf signal for the first Unit to stand. As one, A-Unit rose and lined up, two by two near the door. B-Unit followed suit, and they each gave him a nasty smirk as they joined A-Unit at the back of the hangar, and so forth until he was the only one remaining seated. Wolf beckoned for him to stand and he filed in behind the last pair of F-Unit as Wolf gave the all clear.

"Approaching first drop zone in two minutes." His voice bellowed, even over the gusting wind and roaring engines. A-Unit could be seen checking their ripcords and straps, and Alex began to do the same, expecting some form of foul play. He found no knots in his cord, and his shoulder straps were tight under his arms. He found absolutely no faults in his equipment, and he let out a breath of relief. It was this momentary lapse in his vigilance that Wolf took the time to strike. He reached forward and pulled the flashlight out of the pocket it was supposedly secured in. He slid it into his back pocket, and resumed his monitoring of the units.

"First drop in ten seconds." He shouted, and the first pair of A-Team approached the gap in the back of the plane. Exactly ten seconds went by before Wolf shouted "Go!" and the pair jumped. Five seconds later, as planned, the second pair of A-Team jumped. He saw Viper and Barracuda approach the lip as the plane made a 90 degree turn, heading parallel to the drop zone of the first team.

"Next drop in ten seconds." rang above the din, and Viper gave Barracuda's straps a quick once over, and vice versa. "Go!" was heard once more, and the two jumped as one, parachutes flaring out shortly after, and then whipped away in the night sky. 5 seconds later, Tiger and Rhino followed. Ten more seconds, another pair, five seconds later, the rest of the unit. This continued until he saw Cougar and his unit make the jump. One of Cougars squad mates untucked his shirt for a moment, and Alex saw a glint of steel. Cougar apparently saw it too and punched him on the shoulder. The soldier hid the gun and glanced straight back at Alex. He pretended not to have noticed as his mind raced. _Why would you need a gun on a simple night drop exercise?_ He barely had time to piece anything together before the next unit jumped, and it was just he and Wolf left on the jump deck. He gave Alex a reassuring pat on the shoulder, at the same time, disconnecting his ripcord from his harness. "Ten seconds Cub." He whispered into Alex's ear, a smirk on his face unseen by the nervous teen.

Alex approached the lip of the bay and his mental countdown continued. His mind flashed back to a similar scenario his last time here, and he missed the 'go' from Wolf. Wolf silently walked up behind the unsuspecting teen, and kicked him right in the back.

_Alex was sitting on a very similar plane, maybe even the same one, he had been told he wasn't jumping, and he saw Wolf approach the lip of the plane. The deck sergeant yelled, "Go!" above the noise, but Wolf hesitated, and Alex kicked him off the lip, in an attempt to help. The deck sergeant saw his move, but sad nothing. Alex passed it off as stretching._

He was yanked back to the real world as he felt a booted foot connect with the small of his back, and he realized that he wasn't the one kicking this time. He stumbled off of the lip of the aircraft, and all he could hear was the wind in his ears as the plane flew off in the distance. He waited for his parachute to rip open, but it never did. He remembered when Wolf had given him the pat on the shoulder, and put two and two together. He was still plummeting as he franticly scrabbled to find the cord. He felt his pinky hook around the ring, and he yanked. The sudden deceleration jarred his shoulders and especially his bullet wound. He cried out in pain, and shut his eyes. In his pain he forgot to grab hold of the steering handles. As the ground rapidly rose up to greet him, he attempted to correct his course at the last second, but to no avail. His parachute connected with the treetops and he swung forcefully into a tree trunk. The silk parachute ripped and he plummeted to the forest floor, and slowly began to slip into unconsciousness.

**Well, there you have it, Part II of Déjà vu! Now, I really can't write the next chapter or two until I get more than one vote on the Christina vs. Sabina issue. So far I've had only one vote, and it was for Sabina. I'm giving you guys a chance to pick how the story plays out from here! This is big! So review, review, review! I can't stress enough how important this is! I want at least 3 more votes before I even begin writing the next chapter! Ok, that's not true, but I can't finish the next chapter without the votes, so hurry up and vote already! The 'Submit Review' button isn't too far from this text you're wasting your time on!**

**Kaeyne**

**P.S. I'm leaning towards Sabina right now, so you guys NEED to vote! Especially if you want it to be Christina that I choose! **


	8. Déjà vu: One, Two Punch

**Wow, 3 chapters in 3 days, you guys are so blessed! This is the third installment to Déjà vu and I think its my favorite chapter that I've written so far. If I had as much fun as I did writing it, you're sure to have a fun time reading it!**

**Review Replies (quite a lot this time):**

**2TheMax: I like the Déjà vu thing too, its fn to write, I try to differ them from what is actually said in the novel, but still keeping it historically accurate. If I mess any facts up, please someone, let me know!**

**Gold is Power: Is a chapter a day not enough for you? I'm cranking them out as fast as I can!**

**AD: I try to make them look really evil, just read this chapter, they get even eviler!**

**Rater (Anonymous): I like you, but you need to get a FFnet account! Anonymous reviews are no fun! I'm glad you're addicted to reading it, because I'm addicted to writing it!**

**SkyRider (Anonymous): As much fun as it would be, I can't bring Yassen into the story, as my story is only AU after Ark Angel, therefore he is dead. Maybe when I finish this I will write one with Yassen in it for you.**

**Ok, enough of those, lets get going on the story, its much more exciting!**

**Alone but not Abandoned**

**Déjà vu Part III: One, Two Punch**

**II Kaeyne II**

Viper hit the ground first, sliding to the dirt to ground his parachute, Barracuda doing the same about 5 meters to his right. A cloud of dust briefly glittered in the moonlight before it settled back to the ground. There was another pair of thumps not far to the west, where Tiger and Rhino had hit, and another cloud of dust rose briefly in the silver half-light. A series of metallic clicks echoed through the trees as they disconnected their harnesses and discarded them amongst the trees. Viper was the first to break the silence, "Cubs landing zone should be about two klicks northwest. We should be able to make the run in about twenty-five minutes without the usual full pack. Barracuda, do you have the radio?"

"Yeah I got it, lets dig it out. What was the frequency again?" Before he could finish, Rhino and Tiger broke through the tree line with the snap of a branch.

"Boss, the kids already landed, we should get a move on." Rhino said as he entered the clearing, his deep bass of a voice rumbling through the leaves.

"One second, we still need to get situated, Tiger get me a sit-rep"

"We got spread out along a 4 klick drop zone, A-Unit should have grouped up and started in the direction of the plane when they hit dirt. We're about 2 klicks from what should be the final drop point, but we don't know how fast the kid is, or how stealthy he could be."

"Right, Barracuda, give us max range on that radio, set it at 2400 kHz, Rhino, drop the flare, lets get running." Rhino fished a flare out of his pack and slammed it against a tree. Its bright green glow scarily illuminated the forest, casting long shadows and adjusting their eyes to the light. Rhino dropped the flare near the middle of the clearing and headed back to the unit. As one, they broke out into a steady run in the northwest direction.

Nearly fifteen minutes later, a familiar fair-haired teen snapped his brown eyes open, and found himself staring at dirt and grass. He groggily recalled what had happened, his ripcord _malfunctioning_, the jarring pain, the tree, and finally, the forest floor. He rubbed his chest through his shirt, feeling a twinge of pain as he pressed on his scar. [1 He stood, knees aching, and attempted to walk. He had taken about two steps before he was yanked back to the ground mid-step. He silently cursed as he felt his shoulders and found he had never detached his parachute. A pair of metallic clicks echoed off the trees as he undid the straps and looked upwards. The tattered remains of the parachute hung from the trees, like the sail of some ghostly pirate ship. He did a brief once over of his body, making sure nothing was broken. He felt something in his ankle, but passed it off as nothing and began to take his bearings. He reached into his pack for the compass, and found north. The camp was to the south, so as long as he kept north behind him he should be good. He unzipped his pouch, and reached in for the flashlight this time, finding nothing. His hands rummaged blindly, and he found a variety of items, a flare, a pack of matches, a bottle of water, a roll of gauze wrapped around a cardboard tube, and a knife, but no flashlight. He mentally passed it off as losing it in the drop, but he somehow suspected Wolf.

He decided to save the flare, and began his jog south. He had been walking for around five minutes when they made first contact.

F-Unit had been the closest to Alex's landing zone. They, much like B-Unit, grouped up, get their radio out, and dropped a flare, making sure to hide it as much as possible from northeastern view. The unit consisted of four Hispanic soldiers: Scorpion, Vulture, Mouse, and Piranha. The men immediately began to close in on Alex's position, and found him unconscious under the tree. Making sure not to disturb him in any way, they reported his position to the other units via radio, and began to wait. By the time he had awoken and begun to walk, only A and B Units had not arrived. The other four units, however, had surrounded him, and moved as one with him, keeping behind trees and in the shadows. Then, for the first time in quite a while, they messed up. The same man who had flashed his gun earlier on the plane, Jaguar, pulled the gun from his waistband, and cocked it back. Then, Alex stopped.

He froze; he would have known that noise anywhere, even before his training with Scorpia. It was the sound of a gun. He knew things had gone sour at this point, but he decided to play along for now. He was studying their movements, attempting to adapt on the run. He saw flits of soldiers behind trees, between shadows. They approached a river, and he knew what to do. By now, the remaining two units were nearby also, giving him 24-to-1 odds. "_Not bad, I expected more from Wolf."_

The soldiers saw the river as well, and knew they had him cornered. Spider, A-Units leader, and the highest-ranking soldier on the ground flashed a signal. A single fist pointed down towards the ground. The signal was flashed around to every member of the SAS, and Alex saw it once or twice as well: _Now._ That's when he took action. He slammed the flare against the palm of his hands, blinding most of the SAS members including himself. He left the flare burning on the forest floor as he silently moved in the direction of the river. He hoisted himself down into the water as silently as possible, and was completely submerged.

The flare subsided and he was nowhere to be found. The sound of guns cocking echoed through the forest, and flashlights shone, finding nothing but trees. Alex sat just under the surface of the water as they panicked, breathing through the tube of gauze, and his mind returned to a similar situation.

_He was running through a forest, blasts echoing all around him. A pheasant soared out from under the undergrowth, a spinning ball of feathers. More shotgun blasts tore at the trees around him. He broke into a clearing with a scummy lake in the middle. He had to think fast, if they caught him out in the open, he would be dead. "Where do you think he went?"_

"_Lets try the lake."_

_The boys broke into the clearing, Fiona Friend not far behind. "He's not here, lets go back." One of the boys, Rufus, lingered for a moment, looking for revenge on Alex for his wise cracks earlier. Alex was floating just under the scummy service, using the barrel of the dilapidated shotgun he had been given to breathe through. He watched the whole exchange, and when Rufus was all alone, he decided to strike. He rose out of the water like a wraith, dripping mud and scum. He hit Rufus in the small of the back with the gun, knocking him to the ground, dropping his own. Alex scooped it off the ground, and popped it open. There were two rounds in the chamber, he ejected them and snapped it shut. Alex demanded directions back to the house, and they were given. The boy pleaded for mercy, begging and on the verge of tears, Alex realized he was still pointing the gun at him. He swung it away, disgusted with himself, and the boy incoherently asked for the gun. "Please…expensive…mom will kill me" Alex didn't listen._

"_You're too young to be playing with guns," and with that, he flung the gun. It spun once, twice in the dying light, and the Italian shotgun landed with a splash in the middle of the lake. Alex disappeared into the forest shortly after._

The soldiers were just beginning to give up, some of them moving to scan the perimeter, and he chose to strike. He came up out of the water, his now useless box of matches in hand, and threw it into the middle of the bushes. The men all jumped and turned. He caught one unawares and dropped him from behind with a _ushiro-geri_, or back kick, the deadliest kick in karate, to the nerve cluster at the base of the spine; he dropped without a sound. Alex took his gun and examined it. A Beretta Storm 9mm, he'd used one during his weapons training with Scorpia. He ejected the magazine and pocketed it, leaving only the round in the chamber. He used the gun to club another unsuspecting soldier over the head. He found him armed with the same weapon, and ejected the clip, leaving the gun with just a bullet in the chamber next to the unconscious body. He disabled two more in a similar manner, even finding a radio on one. "_Just like the one Barracuda was messing with earlier, how long had they been planning this?"_ He heard an unfamiliar voice squawk through the radio.

"All units, give me a sit rep."

"A-Unit, nothing here."

"B-Unit," he recognized Barracuda's almost Jamaican accent, "nothing here either." There was a pause, and nothing happened. All was quiet.

"C-Unit? C-Unit do you copy?" Still nothing. Alex put two and two together; he had taken out all of C-Unit. "Quick, check C-Units location!" Panic easily heard in his voice. Shortly after, 20 flashlights shone in his general direction, and he went the only place left to go: the trees.

He scaled the tree easily, like a child on monkey bars, and crouched among the lower branches. SAS men began to sweep the ground beneath him, looking for any sign of his presence. He was determined not to give them any. One of the men found the first man he had attacked, and panicked. "Cheetah is down!" he yelled "And his gun is missing!" various other yells echoed through the forest, reporting each downed member, and the state of their weapons: empty. He flung his water bottle through the air, and it landed with a rustle in the bushes on the other side of the clearing. He pulled out the radio, and barked into it, "I got him, left side of the clearing, upstream." He used the one shot left in the chamber of the gun, shooting it in the direction he had thrown his water bottle. The men were too on edge to bother figuring out who had called him out, or who had fired the shot, but they all rushed over to the other side of the clearing, repeating what had occurred on his side. He swung down from the trees, and slid back into the river, allowing himself to flow downstream a bit, and then emerged. He began the long run back to the camp.

He arrived almost an hour later, chilled to the bone, and still soaking wet. None of the other men had returned yet. He jogged back to B-Units tent, making sure to avoid Wolf and anyone else. He slid the gun and four clips of ammunition under his pillow, and swapped his damp fatigues for a dry pair. He circled around the camp and back to the front gates, this time making sure to be noticed. Wolf rushed out of the mess hall, leaving his food behind, and stared, dumbstruck as Alex stood alone in the middle of the parade grounds. As one, the rest of the men arrived, twenty-three conscious, and carrying the one that he had kicked in the back. Wolf called Spider out of the group and began to talk to him in private, as the other twenty-two could just stare at him.

He walked up to Viper, standing as tall as he could, still inches below him, and put on his best arrogant face, "What took you all so long? It was only a few klicks," he smirked as he said it, watching Viper's face contort.

"How did you get away Cub, there was no way, we had you pinned in the bushes." Alex's grin only got wider as he produced the radio from behind his back.

"Who do you think called it out?"

"There was a shot fired!"

"Check C-Unit, you'll find they have no ammunition." Alex was still grinning when Spider returned to the group, his face downcast.

"Cub, get over here." Wolf demanded, his face twisted in anger.

"Yes, _sir_" putting as much sarcasm into it as he could.

"How did you find the exercise?" he questioned, his face switching to a grin.

"It was tough, my ripcord malfunctioned and I had to pull it manually. I also lost my flashlight in the drop."

"Well…that's…unfortunate" he said, a smile on his face, "Dismissed _soldier"_ putting an equal amount of sarcasm in his voice.

Alex returned to his tent, and immediately fell asleep, not even bothering to change out of his fatigues.

The rest of the week went by with little interference from anyone, apparently they were afraid of getting beaten by a teenager a second time. They weren't going to let him off that easy though; they had one last bit of revenge to exact upon him. It was Tuesday morning at 6 A.M. and he was scheduled to go through the Killing House one last time, with the whole of B-Unit. The exercise went as planned until they reached the final room. Barracuda, Tiger, and Rhino had all exited through the window, leaving just he and Viper alone in the room. His mind flashed back once again to his first time in the Breacon Beacons.

_They were all alone in the Killing House, Fox, Eagle, and Snake had all climbed through the window, leaving he and Wolf all alone in the room. As Alex made his way towards the window, Wolf stuck out his booted foot and Alex stumbled. He fell to the floor, and at the last second saw the trip wire. He attempted to twist to avoid it, but felt his arm tug it free as he hit the floor. The flash bang grenade went off at point blank, and he was blinded, his ears ringing. Wolf had long since left the room, and was outside with the rest of K-Unit. He had failed, he was _dead_. Wolf had gotten punished, his actions caught on camera, and justice served, but old wounds heal slowly._

Viper spoke up "Just you and me, all alone in the Killing House. I saw the tapes of what happened here last time. There's a difference this time though, no cameras on to save you." He pointed at the camera in the corner of the room, the red light on its underside unlit. "Just you and me Cub, and only one gets out alive."

Viper struck out with his left hand, going for Alex's windpipe. Alex ducked on the blow and swept Viper's legs out from under him. His momentum carried him to the carpeted floor, where Viper connected with the trip wire. Alex dove for the window. He rolled to a stop just as the grenade went off inside the house. Wolf stepped out of the officers' hut, a smile on his face, but said smile wilted as he saw four men standing outside of the window, one of them Alex. "What happened in there?" He demanded.

"I'm not sure, we were on our way out when Viper hit the trip wire, check the tapes." Alex said, a smirk across his countenance.

"The cameras malfunctioned, we have no way to see what happened. Did any of you see anything?" Now questioning the rest of the unit.

"Nothing, sir we were all out here when it happened, except for Cub."

"Cub, gather your things, we're heading out." He snarled, he couldn't deny government orders on petty revenge.

The same truck he had arrived on was waiting for him when he arrived at the front gates, once again dressed in his Brookland Comprehensive uniform. He had the small black duffel bag in his hands, and threw it once again into the back seat; he followed. He fell asleep before they left the camp, attempting to catch up for lost sleep over the past week. The truck rolled to a stop outside of Heathrow International Airport, and Wolf roughly jostled him awake. "Get out of the car, you have a plane to catch."

He groggily stepped onto the curb and entered the airport. He fished the manila folder with all of his papers out of his bag, and produced the plane ticket, along with his MI6 issued immigration papers. He passed through security without a hassle, going around the metal detector, so as to not alarm anyone that he had a gun in his waistband.

As he strode across the concourse, two pairs of eyes locked on to him, one friendly, and the other hostile.

**Ok, wow, long chapter for me eh? At least I think so! And another cliffhanger! This may or may not conclude the déjà vu portion of the story; the next chapter may contain one as well. Do you guys like it? I think it adds a bit of character to my story. Anyway, keep reviewing! I got quite a lot for the last chapter, and that made me very happy, and if I'm happy, you get more chapters! Also, the poll is still open, and right now its tied! I have four for Sabina and four for Christina, so hurry up and break that tie! (Even though it's tied, I'm leaning towards Sabina!)**

**Kaeyne**

**P.S. I STILL need a beta reader, so if you're interested, e-mail me at iikaeyneii(at)yahoo(dot)com, or leave a review!**


	9. Twin Danger

**So, it's been about two years since I updated this story, and I apologize to those of you who were loyal readers. I don't really have an excuse other than the fact that I got hit with huge writers block, and then basically forgot I was writing the story. It was in the back of my mind, until Wednesday, January 27****th**** when I got an e-mail about a new Favorite. Needless to say, I pulled it up, reread my own story, and completely reworked the in progress chapter that is Chapter 8/9. (Depending on if you count that little Holiday chapter.) Anyway, enough blabber, here is the long overdue chapter. I know it's short, but it seemed an appropriate place to end it. I'll probably have another chapter up by the end of they day.**

The first pair of eyes belonged to none other than John Crawley, dressed once again in a nondescript black suit, standing nonchalantly by the gate to the airplane, holding a black duffel bag, identical to the one Alex held in his own hands, albeit it looking significantly heavier. Alex didn't even bother to exchange any words with the man, and just dropped the bag at Crawley's feet, accepting the other bag and slinging it over his shoulder. Unbeknownst to both of them, however, there was another figure that watched this exchange intently from one of the chairs located near the gate. As John Crawley scooped up the bag and paced away from the terminal, the man stood up quickly, picking up his briefcase, and fluidly pulled a plane ticket out of his jacket pocket, an expensive Rolex watch flashing in the fluorescent light, and strode to the gate behind Alex.

Alex produced the ticket out of his folder, and handed it to the airline attendant, the machine beeping as it read the magnetic stripe along the back of the ticket. He accepted the ticket stub and glanced at the seat assignment, 4A. He smiled to himself, he was flying first class. The man behind him went through the same procedure as Alex, without the smile. His ticket stub flashed briefly to nobody before it got stuffed in a pocket, 4D.

Alex passed through the door of the plane with a brief acknowledging nod to the flight attendants and settled into his seat. The seat next to him was empty, but the flight wasn't filled yet, as he was one of the first to board. The man filed in behind Alex, sitting down in one of the seats across the aisle. Alex flashed him a smile, and the man grinned back, filled with malice. Alex however, had already turned away and leaned his head against the back of the seat, closing his eyes and sinking into a much-needed sleep.

The man pulled a stylized black leather briefcase from under the seat in front of him, the name stitched into an identity tag on the handle, Cheing. He flicked open the silver clasps, lifting the lid gently. The inside of the case looked much like one would expect a modern businessman to keep at his side, a few manila folders in a sleeve, and a laptop computer velcroed in the main compartment. This, however, was where the similarities ended. The briefcase also contained a few metal objects underneath the main compartment, only visible when the laptop, and the lead plate beneath it, were removed. These objects radiated of a sinister nature, and for a good reason. Dr. Jason Cheing was none other than the infamous Dr. Three, the same man who had published multiple books on the torture and dismemberment of the human body. Dr. Three, however, was not there to torture the young Alex Rider, not today. Dr. Three was on the executive board of a criminal organization known as Scorpia, a group that Alex Rider had gotten tangled up with, and thwarted their plans for ending the British-American alliance. Scorpia had been humiliated, and Alex Rider was to blame. Scorpia never forgot, and Scorpia never forgave. Alex Rider had already survived two attempts on his life by Scorpia, though not without injuries. The small white scar on his chest, and dull pain in his arm were constant reminders of his brush with death. The man known as Dr. Three reached into his briefcase and fished out one of three small black orbs nestled in a foam padded box that looked as if it might hold a commemorative pen, or an expensive necklace. He stood gracefully, and with a fluid motion, as if reaching for an overhead compartment, dropped the small orb into the slightly ajar zipper of Alex Rider's olive drab duffel bag. Dr. Three sat back and sighed as he opened the lid of the laptop computer, checking to see that the small black tracker had indeed been activated. He closed the briefcase and allowed sleep to take him as well.

Just as he drifted off to sleep, a pair of teenage girls, twins except for the fact that one had obviously dyed her hair an outlandish green in places dashed onto the plane at the last second, the one with the dyed hair, snagging her foot on the lip of the door. They had clearly done their fair amount of shopping while in London, evident by the Harrods bag one carried, and the tag still attached to the collar of the other's jacket. The lead one, with plain blonde hair glanced down at the pair of tickets in her hand, and then back up, at the seat numbers. "Hey Lindsay," she shouted above the din of the airplane, an American accent heavy in her voice, "looks like we got split apart by the aisle, which side do you want?" She asked without examining either seat. The sister sidled her way next to her twin, back to Alex, and saw Dr. Three, the weathered old Asian man asleep in the accompanying seat.

"You can sit next to the old man, I'll take my chances over here," she drawled as she turned on her heel. She plopped into her seat with a slight bounce, her tailbone striking the metal bar resting just underneath the thin padding, with a quiet "Ow". She turned to extend a greeting to the person next to her and almost exclaimed in surprise, "Hey Lauren! Looks like I lucked out, check out this hottie!" Lauren craned forward in her seat, trying to see around her sister and was rewarded with a rather awkward view of the fifteen year old Alex Rider asleep in his seat, neck bent awkwardly against the window.

"Lindsay, you might want to fix his neck, that looks a bit uncomfortable don't ya think?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right" She replied, as she reached up, a manicured nail, painted a green as vibrant as her hair reached up and pressed the call button. A stewardess came almost instantly, a perk of business class, and a scowl crossed her face as she eyed the teen girl with distaste. She masked her features, and with a overly fake smile, she addressed the girl.

"Is there anything I can help you with?"

Lindsay almost cringed at the hostility the stewardess was radiating, but chose to press the question anyway. "I was just worried about the boy next to me, his neck looks rather awkward, I was wondering if you could bring him a pillow, or something to put between him and the wall?" The woman was about to lie and say they had no more on board as she stood on her tiptoes to examine the boy, when her eyes caught something pinned on the duffel bag at his feet. A flash of gold had caught her eye, and she was shocked to see the badge of the Special Air Service pinned awkwardly on the side. Lindsay noticed the quick change in her demeanor as she scurried off and quickly returned with a thin, but firm, airline pillow. Lindsay reached over and, as gently as possible, took his arm and lifted his torso away from the wall of the plane slightly. She slid the pillow between the wall and his head as she let him gently fall back into place. He shifted a little in his sleep, and his white Oxford shirt slipped out of the waistband of his pants, flashing a glint of steel across the ceiling. Lindsay however, had already turned to talk to Lauren.

The plane began to taxi away from the gate, lurching forward with a start, and shaking Alex from his sleep. He sat up groggily, attempting to take in his surroundings. He stretched his arms over his head, which pulled his shirt completely free of his trousers, exposing his toned abs, as well as the Beretta tucked into his waistband. His movements also attracted the attention of the pretty green haired girl next to him. As she spun in her chair, breaking off her conversation with her sister mid-sentence, she turned to Alex. "Hey, you're up! My name is…" and then she saw the gun. Alex followed her eyes, and suspected something outside the window of the plane, but only for a moment, as he became all too aware of the unfamiliar shape pressing against his side. He did the first thing that came to mind, and clamped his hand down over her mouth, as she had been in the motion of drawing in air to scream. He leaned in close, his lips almost on her ear.

"Listen, I'll explain everything, just do not scream alright?" She nodded her head, seeing the despair and sincerity in his eyes. He slowly removed the hand over her mouth, and she drew in a greedy breath, despite the staleness of the circulated air in the plane. Her eyes were watering with tears from a mixture of surprise and fear. He attempted to place a placating hand on her shoulder, but she jerked away, as if stung. Lauren had been watching this whole exchange, and as Lindsay jerked away from Alex, she caught her sister's eye and raised an eyebrow, asking the obvious question. Lindsay dipped her head and dried her eyes on her shoulder, smearing her eye-shadow on both her face, and her shirt. She raised a finger to her lips, the universal sign for silence, and turned back to Alex, arms folded across her chest.

"This better be a damn good explanation…"

**So, here you go. I actually just reread a few of the Alex Rider novels, and I noticed a few elements missing that I would really have liked, and I decided to add one in this chapter. (Please note: I have NOT read Crocodile Tears yet, so no spoilers please) Also, I guess this story can now be considered AU since Snakehead, seeing as it is supposed to take place after Ark Angel.**

**As always, please review! Especially this time! If there is anything you don't like, or anything you want more of, tell me ASAP because I'm already halfway done with the next chapter as I write this! **

**I'm aware it might not seem to mesh with the first few chapters, or perhaps even the first half of the chapter itself, and for that I apologize, but two years is a long time, the next chapters should flow quite well with this one.**


	10. Mile High Club: Green to Envy

**Alright, so I know I promised I would post it yesterday, but I got caught up in some Soccer stuff, and some school work. I had this finished yesterday, but I was going to give you guys a longer chapter, but hit my final deadline, so I cut it off at, what I felt, was a good stopping point.**

**Vault Boy: You're right, if I had a story on alert, and it lay dormant for two years, I wouldn't expect it to start back up either, but here I am, proving people wrong! In the first chapter, I promised it wouldn't fizzle, and I intend to keep that promise!**

Alex took a deep breath, and began his tale, every so often glancing around for listeners. He started with the death of his parents, and ended with the death of his housekeeper, Jack. As he recounted his story, he lamented how many people had died in his wake of what he called 'forced patriotism'. He brought the seemingly fanciful tale to a close with "…and that's why I'm headed to San Francisco." Lindsay's first reaction was laughter, it sounded like fine china clinking together at tea time, light and airy. She had eventually drawn most of the people around to notice, until she had to stop in order to catch a breath.

"That's quite a story, but when I said I expected a damn good explanation, I meant one that was actually believable." Alex said nothing, he let the grave look in his eyes speak for him, and for the first time, she saw it. The gleam in his eyes that said he had seen too many things. Things he would never be able to forget. Her breath caught in her throat, and she managed to croak out, "You aren't making this up are you?" He slowly reached up, and began to unbutton the top of his Brookland Comprehensive Oxford shirt. After undoing the fourth button he stopped, and pulled down the collar of the white undershirt. She expected to see nothing but toned muscles, and tan skin, but the truth was far from expected. His chest was crisscrossed with thin white scars, and bruised flesh that had the yellow tone of being in the recent past. He shifted his shirt down, and she saw it, the small white circle, surrounded by the incisions from his surgery. The bullet wound. She almost yelled in surprise, but saw the look in his eyes, no longer were they gleaming with hardened rage, but they were dull, softened by shame. She heard a noise echo through the plane, but ignored what the pilot had to say. She moved her eyes off of his chest, and he turned to expose his back to her, when she interrupted him. "It's ok, I believe you now, you don't have to show me the rest." She leaned in close to him, taking his chin in her hand, tilting it up towards her face. Just as she reached to wipe away the single tear forming in his eye, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She whipped around, and came face to face with her sister.

The noise that Lindsay had heard behind her was the pilot turning off the fasten seat belt sign, a signal that they had reached their cruising altitude. Lindsay had just as quickly unclasped the small metal buckle and taken the two steps over to the other side of the plane. As she reached out her hand to tap her twin on the shoulder, to get her attention, she realized too late that she was interrupting an obviously personal moment. Normally this wouldn't have seemed too odd, but the boy had only woken up twenty minutes ago. As her sister whipped around, green hair flying wild, Lauren was taken aback. The eye-shadow on her face was streaked down both cheeks, which were flushed pink, even through the layer of make-up on her face. She locked eyes with her sister, expecting to see the same vibrant emerald eyes that matched so well with the hair dye, and was shocked. The flame that normally illuminated her eyes was dim, the bright emerald replaced with a dark forest color. The silence stretched on for a few brief seconds that seemed to last an eternity, it seemed as if the entire plane had flipped a switch, and gone silent. She opened her mouth, but her sisters eyes narrowed, answering the question before she could ask it. Call it what you will, but for that moment, Lauren felt that sense of telepathy that people rumor twins share. Hiding her worry, she flashed a row of perfect white teeth, and extended a hand toward Alex. "Hey, I'm Lauren, Lindsay's twin sister!" Lindsay barely had time to turn to look at Alex, about to motion for her sister to go back to her seat, when she heard a rather cheery voice with the same heavy English accent.

"Alex Rider, nice to meet you." She whipped her head around for the second time in as many minutes, noticing that his eyes no longer held the defeat that she had seen in them only minutes ago. She was still staring when a tan arm, rippling with muscle reached across her body to shake the rather pale hand of her twin.

"I hope you two got on a little better than I did with my….friend over there" She said as she eyed the elderly Asian with contempt in her eyes.

"We had quite the conversational topic come up." He continued as vaguely as possible. He took the opportunity to pull her past her sister, sliding towards the wall in his seat, allowing her room between the two. She stumbled a little, and bounced into the seat, hitting her tailbone on the same support bar her twin had hit as she boarded the plane. As she lifted up her leg to rub her tailbone, she lost her balance, and fell into Alex's side, and felt something dig into her hip. She muttered another soft "Ow." and, using her free hand, reached over to grab the offending seat belt and push it out of the way. When her hand made contact with the metallic object, Alex swore quietly, and like he did no more than fifteen minutes before, reached over with lightning speed, and clamped his hand over her mouth. Just as he was about to repeat the process of leaning in, and whispering condolences to her, Lindsay had managed to piece together the chain of events, and saved him the trouble. Much louder than necessary, she simply stated,

"He has quite the reason for that, just trust me ok? I'll tell you the story later." Lauren had been about to press the issue, but was quickly reminded of the dull look that had been in Lindsay's eyes when she had bounded over. Alex simply reached down to the olive drab duffel bag and pulled it up into his lap. Casting a quick sideways glance, he took the offending weapon from his waistband and stuffed it into the bag, at the same time rooting around one of many manila folders. As he pulled a stack of them free, a small black orb, trapped between two of them, fell onto the floor of the plane. The object quickly rolled back out of his reach, and he dismissed it as he felt a small hand on his shoulder. "Looking for something?" He glanced up and saw that the hand resting on his shoulder had vibrant green fingernails, rather than the much tamer French manicure of her sister. Somehow the two sisters had switched places without his notice. He nodded and flipped past the first three folders, all labeled with either names or places he had been involved in some catastrophe, when he found the one he was looking for. It had 'Classified' in big red letters stamped across the front, and along the subject tab was printed two words, 'Alex Rider'. He pulled a sheet from within, being very careful not to let anyone outside the trio see the folder, and passed it over to Lauren. Not five seconds later, he could hear her take a deep breath, and she reached up and tapped her sister furiously on the shoulder.

"Is this real?" She asked quietly. Alex nodded

"As real as you or me." She replied. Lauren turned her attention back to the sheet of paper, and she continued. "She's got quite a lot of reading ahead of her, so what do you say you tell me about the other side of your life?"

Alex's eyes brightened a bit more at this, and he launched into an animated story of his life at home, when he was there that was, and he was dismayed to find that Lindsay was a Football fan, being American Football. What he called Football, Soccer to her, had little to no impact on her life. Alex had just opened his mouth to mention Sabina Pleasure when he was interrupted by a low whistle from behind Lindsay. She passed the sheet of paper back to Alex, and rubbed her hands together nervously. "So all of that stuff really happened?" she asked. Alex simply nodded again. She took a deep breath, and slowly asked the next question, "Can I see the bullet wound?" She noticed the hurt cross Alex's visage, but he reached up, and grabbed the collar of his white shirt, and pulled it towards his left arm. She, like her sister, expected nothing more than the tan, muscular chest, and was shell-shocked. As the small white circle came into view, she closed her eyes, trying to fight back a few tears as she imagined what it would be like to feel like you had already died. Alex readjusted his shirt, and gave a slight cough. She remained unresponsive, a dim look still in her eyes. He reached over Lindsay, and took a hold of Lauren's wrist. She jerked back to reality, and wiped invisible tears from her eyes. Alex moved to let go of her wrist, when his ring finger caught on something. He glanced at the offending object, a small silver charm bracelet resting on her wrist. He focused, trying to get a better look at the single charm it held, but she pulled her wrist away, leaving Alex's hand to fall back onto Lindsay's thigh. Lauren leaned in close to her sister, whispering something inaudible over the noise of the turbines. Alex could have sworn he saw her wink as she stood, and sauntered towards the rear of the plane, presumably to use the bathroom.

Alex was still trying to piece together the last few moments, and was so preoccupied he forgot his hand was still resting on Lindsay's thigh. She leaned over to him, grabbing his hand as she did so. She took his hand and placed it on the small of her back, and breathed into his ear. "If you wanted to cop a feel, you should have just asked." Alex was about to back away, his face red and his vocal cords unresponsive, when she took a hold of the back of his head, and with a movement as forceful as a bullet, yet as smooth as silk, she pulled him in and locked her lips against his.

**I feel like this might be the only chapter so far that I haven't left you guys with a cliff-hanger. Of course, I wrote the first handful over two years ago, so I'm not all that sure. Anyway, I was going to leave a cliffie, but I wanted this up before bedtime, and I didn't have a better stopping point. Expect the next chapter as soon as mid-day tomorrow! As always, review! I know you didn't have too long, but I was hoping for more than three reviews! Then again, I bet you guys were hoping for a chapter sooner than two years.**

**I'd like to know what you guys think about the twins as well, I know I'm going to keep them around, I have some great stuff in store for them, if only you could see my notebook. That would ruin all the surprises though! I feel like the twins are super Mary-Sues right now, so if someone wants to craft them a little story, my e-mail is still the same, iikaeyneii(at)yaho(dot)com!I'm always open to suggestions for plots (even though this one seems to be well rounded off), places, or characters! If you want to see anyone make a cameo, let me know, but I'm going to keep it realistic, we won't be seeing Yassen at any point in this story for example. Drop me a line via e-mail, or toss it in a review! **


	11. Mile High Club: Seeing Red

Alex's eyes shot wide open as her soft lips made contact with his. He began to panic, his mind racing with thoughts of Sabina, his long time crush, who he was just now hours away from being reunited with. Then, something that hadn't happened to Alex in quite some time began to occur, his hormones overpowered the adrenaline for once. Instead of reasoning the quickest way out of the situation, his mind began to rationalize the events.

_Sabina and I haven't talked for months! We're not even dating, this is fine!_

Of course, as soon as thoughts of Sabina left his head, thoughts of Christina back home began to haunt him, but once again, his mind rationalized it.

_Christina and I hardly know each other! All I used to do was stare at her, there's no way she's interested in me, this is fine!_

Alex closed his eyes, and allowed himself to sink into a relaxed state of mind for the first time in a very long while. He was dimly aware of Lindsay pulling away from him, and he opened his eyes, catching his breath. Looking over at her, he saw her smile and wink and him, and a soft giggle escaped her.

As he smiled back at her, she noticed a spark in his eyes that hadn't been there before. His eyes seemed softer around the edges, and the lines around his mouth had relaxed. As she was lost in his chocolate orbs, he did the last thing she expected from him, he leaned forward and brought her in for another kiss. She responded wordlessly, and swung her right leg over him, straddling his lap. She heard a gasp escape his lips and she responded by pressing closer to him, running her right hand through his fair hair. She felt him press harder back into the kiss, and she snaked her tongue through her lips, toward his.

As her tongue made it's way through his lips, he learned one other thing about Lindsay, she had a stud in her tongue, and it drove Alex crazy. He wrapped his right arm around her back, pulling her even closer to him, their bodies molding together. He was almost disappointed when she pulled away to take a breath. She saw the look in his eyes, and she knew exactly what it meant. Her face flushed red, and Alex noticed it.

_She looks so cute when she blushes like that, I could stare at her for hours. _

As Alex did exactly that, getting lost in the sparkling emeralds that made up her eyes, Lindsay leant in and nipped him on the neck with her teeth. As he jolted from the unexpected bite, she leaned back to him and whispered in his ear. "Now I marked you as mine," she said with a wink. She attacked him with her lips once again, and for once, it was an attack Alex was glad he didn't have to defend from. He let himself fall into the kiss, and he receded into an almost trance-like state.

Her wrist was resting on his forehead as he opened his eyes. He saw something silver dangling before his eyes, but couldn't make out what it was. He reached up with his hand, and grasped at it, before he realized it was a charm bracelet, just like the one Lauren had on her left wrist. Lindsay leaned away from him, and held her wrist up in front of him. "You like it?" she asked, "My dad gave them to us, my sister has one too."

Alex looked away from Lindsay's vibrant green eyes, and down at the bracelet once more. It was a simple silver chain, adorned with one charm, he rotated the charm around and stared closely at it. Staring back at him was a solid silver scorpion. He let go of her wrist in shock, and his hand instantly flew to the sidearm in his waistband. He pushed her off him with his left hand as his right drew the gun from his pants. "Why are you here?" He more demanded than asked. There was a biting cold to his voice that chilled her to the bone. Combined with the firearm she saw in his hand, she was scared speechless. He pressed the sidearm into her side, and asked again, "Why are you here?". Her voice was shaky as she responded, her eyes blurred by unshed tears.

"W-what are you t-talking ab-bout?" she managed to stutter, her voice breaking near the end. Alex dug the firearm deeper into her side, and he glared at her, his eyes were no longer the soft chocolate pools that she had been able to lose herself in. They seemed black as night and radiated hatred. She tried to push away from him, her arm digging into his left shoulder, but he held firm.

Alex stared at her eyes, the bloodshot red of obvious fear almost shook him from his anger.

_What am I doing? There's no way this teenager could be working for Scorpia!_

His anger was slipping away as the heel of her palm drove into his scar, and he grimaced in pain, and he was instantly reminded exactly why he didn't take chances when it came to Scorpia.

_She couldn't be working for Scorpia because she's a teenager? What was I thinking? They almost used me! I know teenagers aren't below them!_

"I know you work for Scorpia, your bracelet gave you away, now, who sent you? Rothman is dead already, Invisible Sword is over, just let it go and leave me alone!"

Her eyes flashed with recognition at the word Scorpia, and she understood. Her charm bracelet, with the Scorpion on it, his reaction, the people that tried to kill him. The puzzle pieces came together. She just needed to find a way to explain things to him. She opened her mouth and yelled for her sister to help her explain things.

Alex saw her open her mouth to scream, but he wasn't quick enough, as his left arm whipped around to cover her mouth, one word left her lips.

Lauren saw Lindsay trembling in her seat as she returned from her trip to the restroom.

Lindsay yelled "Lauren!"

Alex pulled the trigger.

**I know it's rough, but I wanted to give you guys something now that I have the chance to write again. It's a rather pivotal plot point for me, so I wanted to get it out there, I hope I didn't do an atrocious job getting it across. I know, it's been forever, but it wasn't two years this time! Anyway, this was Part 2 of Mile High Club. I hope you enjoyed, and yes, I know, what a cliffhanger, but this one I had planned out two and a half years ago according to this notebook here, so you're stuck with it! Also, according to the notebook, a winner was decided as Alex's "main squeeze" so, you'll find that out next chapter, trust me.**


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